The O'Reilly Factor
A daily summary of segments aired on The O'Reilly Factor. A preview of the evening's rundown is posted before the show airs each weeknight.
Thursday, June 9, 2005
The Factor Rundown
Talking Points Memo & Top Story
Impact Segment
Factor Follow Up Segment
Personal Story Segment
Great Debate Segment
Back of Book Segment
Factor Mail
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Comments
The search for Natalee Holloway
Guests: Former NYPD homicide detective Patrick Brosnan & Julie Renfro, Aruba News

"Even Factor viewers who are not fixated on crime are engrossed in the tragedy of Natalee Holloway. That's because she could be anyone's daughter. She's a good student, good daughter, good friend, and her disappearance in Aruba is horrible. Every American should be praying that Natalee is found alive and that any person who harmed her pays a drastic price. This is a cautionary tale that could happen anywhere. If young girls party in public, they had better be careful - predators are everywhere and violence and anti-social behavior is more intense than it once was. The awful case of Natalee Holloway should be page 1 in your house and in classrooms across America. If this could happen to her, it could happen to any young woman."

Transcript/Video: FoxNews.com

Aruba newspaper editor Julia Renfro joined The Factor with the latest information on the case and the five men in custody. "The police told us that they have solid evidence against two of the men. The other three were considered as witnesses against those two men." Renfro has befriended Natalee Holloway's mother, and reported, "She's doing amazingly well - she's got a lot of hope and feels 100 percent sure that her daughter is alive and will be found, and that the police are using tactics to get Natalee back."

Aruba panic over tourism decline
Guest: Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal

The Prime Minister of Aruba has publicly acknowledged that Natalee Holloway's disappearance will hurt tourism. Reporting from the island, Fox News correspondent Rick Leventhal said people there are noticeably anxious. "There's discomfort with all the attention... And the fact that all this international media is here for this story isn't sitting well. They're fragile right now because this is the first time anything like this has ever happened." The Factor reiterated that Aruba is normally a placid and peaceful place. "I don't think there's any question the island is safe. It's not a dangerous island - it's safe and has a low crime rate."

Michael Jackson trial continues
Guest: Roger Friedman, FoxNews.com

Even as the jury deliberates, there are more bizarre occurrences at the Michael Jackson trial. Roger Friedman of FoxNews.com joined The Factor with more on the trial and the behavior of the Jackson family. "While his son is awaiting a verdict to see if he's going to jail," Friedman reported, "Michael Jackson's father Joe has been taping interviews with international journalists and selling them around the world. Joe Jackson doesn't really have an income except for the money he can make off his son. The mother Katherine knows about this and turns the other way."

Kids in trouble for violent video
Guest: Childhood expert Deborah Prothrow-Stith

Teenage boys and girls in Arkansas were videotaped beating one another and mud wrestling. Childhood expert Deborah Prothrow-Stith tried to analyze the teens' mindset. "We have caused our children to be entertained by violence. They have an appetite for violence, and I think they were entertaining themselves. There's also an exhibitionist quality and a sexual quality to it. I feel sad for the parents, and I feel sad for us as a society." The Factor contended that the teens on the tape appear to be wholly anti-social. "These kids knew they were being taped and you have to assume they knew the tape would be found. Yet they don't seem to care. I think this high school has to have an assembly and ask 'what kind of person do you want to be?' This is insulting to the kids' dignity."

Arianna Huffington on Bush
Guest: Arianna Huffington

Author Arianna Huffington, who has been harshly critical of President Bush and the Iraq war, debated The Factor about the President's policies. She began by asserting the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay should be shut down. "There is evidence of abuse," Huffington claimed. "And there is overwhelming evidence that it is being used as a recruiting tool for terrorists. We've released 234 people from Guantanamo Bay who had nothing to do with terrorism." The Factor countered that detainees being released are not innocent. "These people are no longer needed in detention, their usefulness in interrogation is through. If you can give me one name of one detainee who was released because he was in there mistakenly, I'll check him out." Huffington also asserted the US needs an "exit strategy" in Iraq, a notion The Factor disputed. "You would tell the enemy when we're going to leave - then the enemy would say okay, we'll wait until you leave and then we'll blow the country up."

Angelina Jolie and the UN
Guest: Dr. Nile Gardiner, Heritage Foundation

In addition to being a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Angelina Jolie has donated millions of dollars to the UN. The Factor has unsuccessfully tried to determine exactly how Jolie's money is being spent. "This whole situation is symbolic of the lack of transparency and accountability within the UN system," contended Nile Gardiner of the Heritage Foundation. "We have an actress who is doing tremendous work putting her money in, yet we don't know where this money goes. If the United Nations would like more individuals to donate their time and money, it's imperative that they get their act together." The Factor applauded Jolie's good intentions, but denounced the UN bureaucracy. "I think Angelina Jolie is a good woman. But I don't think any human being on Earth could track this money. It's going into Chad, Namibia, Ecuador, and no one can track it."

Viewers sound off
Factor Words of the Day
Many of you sent e-mails about Natalee Holloway's disappearance in Aruba. Some excerpts:

Anna Sperduti, Auburn, NY: "I've been visiting Aruba since the 80's and was upset by the negative image you gave the island, Bill. It is the safest place I've ever vacationed."

Henri Shinkelman, Atlanta, GA: "Bill, you are to be commended on your coverage of Natalee Holloway. Clearly, the Aruba justice system is chaotic."

Michael Marone, Boca Raton, FL: "Natalee's case shows the media's hypocrisy. If this was a poor black girl, would she be getting this kind of coverage?"

Other viewers wrote about Kansas doctor who is reportedly aborting fetuses diagnosed with Down Syndrome:

Martha Jones, Norfolk, VA: "Mr. O'Reilly, I just watched your segment on the Kansas doctor who may be aborting babies with Down Syndrome. I am heartsick. Our three-year-old son has that and he is not only gifted, but a gift to us."

Brian Berkey, New York, NY: "Bill, it's absurd for you to say that aborting fetuses with Down Syndrome is 'Nazi stuff.' A number of bioethicists say parents have a right to make that decision."

Kathy Parkins, Winter Park, FL: "Bill, many women choose to abort babies with Down Syndrome. Sounds like Nazism to me, too."